In my last post I was still coming to terms with this injury and raw emotion poured out. Thank you so much to those who commented or even just read through my emotional word dump. It’s so helpful for me to have this blog and to be able to get stuff out like that. That was the catalyst for me to get back to being me…HAPPY SALLY. Sally who makes a Plan B when Plan A can’t happen. And so I did…

That 5k I was supposed to run on Saturday? I still went but I walked it and even with my limp I blew past so many other walkers. I think it took me about 57 or 58 minutes to complete. And you know what? It was fun anyway. I still got to meet up with friends beforehand and catch up on life.

Mr. SOTSS (Sweat Out the Small Stuff) finished in less than 25 minutes and then came back to the course with his dog and they walked the last mile with me. And afterward I went out for breakfast with my friends Jane and Alex who also ran it. The coolest part of the morning was seeing the college gymnasium filled from wall to wall with thousands of toys! The “entry fee” to this race was a toy ($10 or more in value). Giving IS so much better than receiving. This I know.

I iced my ankle a lot afterward. It didn’t feel any worse or better so I am happy about that.

My next compromise for the weekend was for the hike I wanted to do yesterday. I knew it was described as “moderate to strenuous” and that there were spots along the trail that would require literally using hands and feet to scale rocks! I knew that my ankle brace wasn’t going to be enough. My sneakers wouldn’t cut it for this hike. I am low on the funds front these days and fancy $200 hiking boots weren’t an option but I scored a great deal on some really sturdy Merrell hiking boots.

They were only $79 at Marshall’s. I took Duncan for a test walk in the woods to see how the shoes felt.

With the combo of my ankle brace and the new hiking shoes I felt pretty good and I was pretty optimistic it would be enough to support the ankle. So yesterday morning we set out for Abram Hewitt State Forest which is at the NJ/NY state border. And 3.5 hours later we completed what I consider one of the toughest hikes I’ve ever done. I swear at times it was more like rock climbing…

I used a hiking stick which was awesome. Like a crutch.

I still almost fell in the river once but I narrowly escaped that situation. (Thank you Mr. SOTSS for grabbing my arm!) Poor Duncan was too afraid to cross this one stream and we were about 500 feet away when I realized my little shadow wasn’t there. So we turned back to find him. There he was waiting for some encouragement. So we helped him navigate to a shallower spot to cross where he could jump from rock to rock. He still got his paws wet but he took it like a champ. Duncan is a poodle/lab mix. Both are water loving breeds yet he hates the water. Go figure!

The hike was magnificent. And for the first 3 hours I navigated just fine relying on that hiking stick like it was a limb of my own.

But the last half hour was spent descending all the elevation that we had climbed and that was rough on the ankle. I don’t want to tell you that it was a smart idea but I will tell you it was a personal decision that I still feel was the right one. I can’t tell you how many moments I paused and took in the breathtaking views that literally took my breath away.

 

I am learning more and more that running marathons needs to be part of my life but not consume my life. If it takes me longer to heal because I opted to do this hike and I have to bail on a marathon or two, well so be it. I don’t want to miss out on amazing memories because I’m too fixated on protecting myself for a future race. I’m not an elite athlete and my livelihood doesn’t depend on it. And while i do find that running helps me stay sane I know there are lots of ways to sweat out the small stuff. And let me tell you how much I sweat out hiking?! 😉

Other highlights of my weekend:

I put my tree up while Mr. SOTSS watched and took pictures of me.

I made a home-cooked meal!

Tonight as my Monday at work was winding down. I got up from my desk to walk to the office kitchen when all of a sudden I realized I wasn’t limping! A Christmas miracle! I know I have a ways to go before I am healed but it’s a great bonus to feel better rather than worse just 24 hours after that hike.

This week my focus will be on Christmas card writing and mailing and gift wrapping and trying to get as close to 10,000 steps a day just walking.

Do you cook dinner frequently or are you a frozen meal/take out kinda person?

What’s your favorite quote?